Archive for June, 2008

After Rogers and Fido released their “great” iPhone plans a petition has surfaced to voice your disapproval.

Everyone would like to say “NO THANKS” to Rogers/Fido for screwing our iPhone Canadian dream with poor data/voice plans. If you consider these plans not suitable, please sign this petition. On July 11th 2008, we will send a printed copy of all these messages to Rogers HQ to demonstrate our indignation toward them. We would like to say “Thank You, You” for signing this petition and helping the iPhone cause in Canada.

At the time of writing this post 17 547 Canadians have signed to petition! Add your name to the list, follow the link below.

Rogers and Fido have both release plans for the 3G iPhone which is launching July 11th around the World. No unlimited data is available for Canadian consumer where American’s will get it for $30/month from AT&T. All plans will require that you sign new three year contract. Signing up on Fido will get you per-second-billing for the same price as Rogers’ per-minute-billing. Existing Fido clients will be able to use their FidoDollars to upgrade to the iPhone 3G.

Monthly Fee

$60

$75

$100

$115

Weekday Minutes Included

150

300

600

800

Evenings and Weekend

unlimited

unlimited

unlimited

unlimited

Evenings are from 9 p.m to 7 a.m Monday to Friday and Weekends are from 9 p.m Friday to 7a.m Monday

Data Included

400MB

750MB

1GB

2GB

1MB= 1,024 KB 1GB=1,024MB

Bonus Sent Text Messages

75

100

200

300

Visual Voicemail – New with iPhone

Included

Visual Voicemail allows you to go directly to any of your messages without listening to the prior messages, so you can quickly select the messages that are most important to you.

Virgin Mobile USA and Helio have merged to provide you with a better cellphone service. Virgin Mobile USA is paying $39 Million in Equity for Helio and the deal should close in the thrid quarter of 2008 (subject to regulatory approvals). Virgin and Helio are both MVNOs and will continue to lease network capacities from CDMA carrier Sprint after the merger. Virgin Mobile USA will sell Helio’s premium service and exclusive devices while providing customer service for 70 000 existing Helio customer (as of December 2007) and 4.6 Million Virgin USA clients (as of January 2008).

Q: What does this mean for current HELIO members? Can I still use my HELIO device, while keeping my HELIO service plan and number?
A: Current service plans will continue without interruption – it will be business as usual. HELIO members are at the center of this transaction and we’ll continue to bring them the innovative mobile services they’ve come to expect.Q: Can new members still sign up for HELIO service?
A: Absolutely. HELIO will continue to offer exclusive, high-end devices and our innovative All-In plans.Q: Will the HELIO brand be retained, or will everything migrate to Virgin Mobile USA?

A: Over time, we expect that all aspects of the customer experience will be integrated under the Virgin Mobile USA brand. Integration of the direct sales channel will begin immediately, and we expect that existing HELIO products and services will soon be offered through the Virgin Mobile USA website at www.virginmobileusa.com.Q: So what’s next?
A: We’re excited by the possibilities our new, combined team offers. We have some big ideas, but as you can imagine, a little bit of housekeeping is in order before we share them. Stay tuned!Q: Does this affect my current contract with HELIO in any way? When Virgin Mobile USA does acquire HELIO, can I end my current contract without paying an early termination fee (ETF)?
A: HELIO contracts remain in effect and unchanged by this transaction. HELIO members who wish to end their contract early will still be subject to an early termination fee (ETF).

Here’s Apple’s new iPhone3G. Compared to the original iPhone the iPhone3G has built in tri-band HSDPA, a new back cover that comes in 2 different colours (you can get it in black or white) and GPS. There is support for Microsoft Exchange along with many new 3rd party Apps.

The biggest and most important different is the price: $199 USD for the 8GB or $299 for the 16GB. Canadians get the same pricing (199 and 299 CAN for 8 and 16).